Obverse, bearded, diademed head of Demetrios II
facing right; pellet and reel border, surrounding;
reverse, ??????O? ?????????, right; TS?U
??????G?? II, left; Zeus enthroned left, holding
Nike and scepter, centre; A, beneath.
The Seleukid Kingdom was established in Babylonia
by Seleukos I, a general of Alexander the Great
following his death in 323 BC and division of his
empire. At its zenith the Seleucid Kingdom
comprised almost all of Alexander’s eastern
conquests.
Demetrios II came to the throne in 146 BC, after
killing the pretender Alexander Balas. His hold on
the throne however was shaky and his rule confined
to the cities of the Phoenician coast. He marched
against the Parthians in 139 BC but was captured
and held at court for a decade, before coming to the
throne again in 129 BC.
There is a marked difference between the coins of
his first and second reigns. His early portraiture is
construed in the highly stylized manner popularized
by the successors of Alexander the Great. Later
coins, as we see here, no longer show him as a
clean-shaven youth but with long hair and beard in
the Parthian fashion. The choice of Zeus on the
reverse similarly follows the precedent set by
Alexander and indicates the Seleucids reclaimed
Zeus as their patron deity.
- (C.392)